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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Nazal bill to prevent misuse of earmarked revenues

Nazal bill to prevent misuse of earmarked revenues

Published Aug 29, 2025 11:03 pm

At A Glance

  • Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal filed House Bill (HB) No. 1021, or the proposed Earmarked Revenues Accrual and Utilization Act, in a bid to establish clear conditions for the accrual, monitoring, and disbursement of earmarked revenues.
Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal (Facebook)
Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal (Facebook)


"Transparency and accountability must be non-negotiable when it comes to earmarked revenues."
With this notion, Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal filed House Bill (HB) No. 1021, or the proposed Earmarked Revenues Accrual and Utilization Act, in a bid to establish clear conditions for the accrual, monitoring, and disbursement of earmarked revenues.
“We want to put a stop to the misuse or diversion of these funds," Nazal, a member of the House minority bloc and a neophyte lawmaker, said in a statement Friday, Aug. 29.
The measure provides that while these funds may be temporarily pooled under the One Fund Concept for urgent government needs, they must remain fully available for their original legal purposes.
One of the clearest examples is the spectrum user fee (SUF) which the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) collects from telecommunications companies.
The SUF generates billions of pesos annually and could be tapped to help fund the government’s nationwide free public WiFi program, which President Marcos touted in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month.
Former BH Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera, who has long championed reforms in the use of earmarked funds, said SUF and similar special accounts highlight the risks of weak fund management.
“The SUF was created to fund the regulation and development of our telecommunications sector. Yet we’ve seen how its collections accumulate while consumers still grapple with poor service and connectivity gaps,” Herrera pointed out.
“The problem is not the lack of funds, but how earmarked revenues are used—or misused—in practice,” she added.
Nazal said his measure seeks to restore fiscal discipline while protecting the people’s trust.
The bill requires separate accounting of earmarked revenues as Special Accounts in the General Fund; mandates quarterly reports to Congress from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of Finance (DOF), and the Commission on Audit (COA); and prohibits delays in releasing funds for their lawful purposes.
It also imposes stiff penalties on government officials who misuse earmarked funds, ranging from fines and imprisonment to disqualification from public office.
If the amount involved is below P50 million, violators face fines equivalent to the misused amount, imprisonment of up to six years, or both, along with perpetual disqualification from holding public office and forfeiture of benefits.
Amounts reaching P50 million or more qualify as plunder under Republic Act (RA) No.7080, which carries the penalty of life imprisonment and forfeiture of assets.
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